Despite what is generally believed to the official residence of the Prime Minister 10 Downing Street
is actually The First Lord of the Treasury's Official Residence
. Formerly a brewery
The last private resident
of Downing's terrace was a Mr. Chicken
. Sadly, little is known about him except that he moved out in the early 1730's when King
George II presented the house on Downing Street
, and the house overlooking Horse Guards
, to his Principle Minister Sir Robert Walpole
Walpole, who is regarded as the first British Prime Minister, refused the property as a personal gift. Instead he asked the King to make it available to him, and future First Lords of the Treasury, in their official capacity.
The King agreed, and to this day Prime Ministers occupy Number 10, not as the Prime Minister, but as the First Lord of the Treasury.
As a home it has often been decried by wives of Prime Ministers as being small, cramped and completely lacking in any sense of privacy with Spin Doctors, Civil Servants and Special Advisers scurrying about, using it relentlessly as their workplace.
Prime Minister Tony Blair unusually is currently living in Number 11 Downing Sreet - The Chancellor of the Exchequer's official residence - as he has a big family and the Chancellor agreed to swap albeit temporarily.
A few important changes have been made to the structure of 10 Downing, including a secret escape passage, a war bunker 10 floors below (where Cobra is based), and a simple door connecting it to Cabinet Office.